Agency
new delhi, Nov 14
Propelled by an ever-growing shopping app-etite in Tier 2 towns, Indian e-commerce companies had a lot to cheer for this festive season.
The gross merchandise value (GMV) saw a robust 12% growth at $14 billion between September 15 and October 31 as compared to the year-ago period, Redseer Strategy Consultants said in its report on Wednesday.
“The 2024 festive season reassures us of Bharat’s (tier 2+ customers’) spending potential,” said Kushal Bhatnagar, associate partner at Redseer.
It said that while the rate of new shopper acquisitions has been slowing down, the per-shopper spending increased by 5-6%. This could be a long-term trend in e-commerce, wherein the shopper base reach has been significantly achieved–with 250 million annual product shoppers–with headroom for retail wallet penetration still immense.
The report said the growth was also fuelled by resilient consumer spending across categories. Fashion emerged as the top-performing category with threefold growth over baseline months, driven by a surge in ethnic wear and accessories.
The growth was also aided by a wider access to discounts and premium product availability. Prepaid transactions also saw a rise in these areas, enhancing the shopping experience for non-metro consumers, the report said.
Demand for premium electronics also increased, which the report attributed to prolonged summer conditions, and quick commerce platforms responding to festive demand by expanding offerings to include electronics and home appliances while also extending delivery hours.
Redseer identified Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru as the top-performing cities for quick commerce, particularly in non-grocery categories.
Bhatnagar said with customers bringing a larger share of wallet online, the sector is ready to witness continued growth in the next few years. He added that metro consumers’ engagement with q-commerce platforms continues to grow, a trend likely to expand beyond the top three cities.
